Dark Element
by riais
Summary: EDITED He was a warrior that had accepted long ago that death came from mortality, but he had never imagined such an end. Felix dreams a fatal prediction. Can he do anything against the voices of the gods that threaten to turn him against his friends? Ch5
1. Only Fate

1. Dark Element

He was a warrior that had accepted long ago that death came from mortality, but he had never imagined such an end. Felix dreams a fatal prediction. Can he do anything against the voices of the gods that threaten to turn him against his friends? Felix/Sheba

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Yes, so during my free time, I decided to revise the first couple chapters so I can keep it up to date with my writing style. Since it's been so long, I figured it would be a good idea. And yes, I do happen to be working on the updates, too. I'm taking a break—a rather long one…

*Rating for Felix's potty mouth and bloody messes, but that's about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun. If I did, Sheba would have better hair. That said, please enjoy.

**Golden Sun: Dark Element: Chapter One**

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_None but the Gods of the sky remember the ancient times._

_The first world of man was one filled with beauty and immortality. The gods were proud of their creations, especially the elements given to man. They were overconfident, and rightly so. The powers of Sol, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Luna were the greatest in existence aside from the gods themselves. _

_The world the gods created was perfect in every aspect, though man was not._

_Man became filled with greed and before long horded the power they had been given. Soon came the war. Darkness filled the hearts of those who wielded the power, thinking that their power was better than the power of others._

_The powers were called psynergy, and were divided into six elements. The powers of Flame, Earth, Water, and Wind fought amongst themselves. Who was better? The fighting would surly tell._

_But the strongest, and most arrogant wielders of the powers were that of Luna and Sol. The powers of light and dark fought a war all their own, thinking too highly of themselves to be involved in the struggles of the powers beneath them._

_Then, tragedy became too great when the gods themselves became involved._

_Finally, councils of the high court made a desperate decision: to seal these powers away._

_And thus were the lighthouses built on a new world pure of war that man named Wayward._

_Sol and Luna resisted terribly, however, and put up a fierce fight, deciding to work together to overthrow the high gods. In loosing, they were thus sealed from memory forever._

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It didn't matter if it was a dream or not, the whole thing still terrified him. Every time, he would wake in a sweat, with terrifying thoughts and a heavy breath. Felix had never feared his death. He was a warrior and death was what came of mortality.

But now…the thought scared him; a death like that…who could imagine? Shivers ran down his spine as his feet touched the cold wooden floorboards.

He pulled on his cotton nightshirt and stepped as quietly as he could into the main hall of the sanctum. Like a cat, he sulked against the wall, slowly adding his weight to the creaking floor. But he became careless, and a loud pop sounded from beneath his feet.

A hiss came almost instantaneously from an occupied bench by his door, "Felix!"

The battering storm outside couldn't rage as much as an angry Sheba. "Do you know how many hours I've spent trying to get that fever down?" She shoved him back towards the door, "For what? Hypothermia? You were sneaking outside!"

"No, I-" Her green-eyed stare cut him off. Sheba could be a wonderful woman, but she could be as much of a…well, like Jenna sometimes.

"You've had your chance," she said, "I'm standing guard right here." She sat promptly by the bed that he had been given since he'd become too sick to stay on his own. He had also been given Sheba to watch over him, and it'd been terrible.

Why not Mia? He had wondered many times; she was caring and nice, and gave her patients ice cream.

"Now," her tone softened slightly as she rolled her sleeve up, " let's check your temperature." She rested her small hand on his forehead, "Well…" she frowned, looking him in the eyes, "I've done everything I know to get it down." She was worried, he realized, finally seeing it in her eyes.

She had changed since the incident at the Mars Lighthouse three years ago. She was stronger willed, and more outspoken, but if anything she was wiser. She knew he was hiding something from her, and she could feel the darkness that had begun to infect him. He had always successfully blocked his mind from her, but maybe it was time to let down the mental barriers.

He didn't think much of the fever. He was sick, it happens. No big deal. It was the dreams that bothered him, and it was time for him to let her know. He sighed and lay back on his lumpy pillow.

"Read my thoughts," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Look at my dreams." He closed his eyes as she dabbed his forehead with a damp cloth.

"Are you sure?" Everyone knew that Felix enjoyed his privacy. Sheba wondered if he was indeed suffering from feverish delusions.

"Yes," he looked away from her questioning gaze. It was a pride thing that he kept his mind secret; it could be labeled male ego, and Sheba had always respected it.

"Get ready," she whispered, putting her hand back to his burning forehead, "here we go." As a hazy light glowed around her fingertips, they both tumbled into the darkness.

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Two stood before a large crowd. One wore all black and had long cascading silver hair. The other wore golden armor that matched his shining blond locks. They were battered and shackled ruthlessly; their shoulders sagged from the weight of the chains. Only the back of them could be seen from where Felix and Sheba watched. They stood invisible in the far end of a lush grand hall. Felix looked around with a growing anxiety. This wasn't the dream he'd had in mind. He didn't really care to see this one, but it was too late anyway. He remembered waking from this dream several times before becoming sick; it was the first in the long series of the dreams he'd been having lately.

An old man with long gray hair stood from the center of the room; he seemed to command all the authority, "On the charge of high treason…" he stated to the two, "The council finds you, guardian of the sun, guilty," the man cleared his throat to read more, "On the charge of high treason, the council finds you, guardian of the moon, guilty."

The dark one squared his shoulders despite the chains and said venomously, "Traitors?" he asked, "Who was it that sealed the powers of the gods away?"

The old man's eyes widened in anger as whispers erupted in the restless crowd. The dark one stood definitely, but seemed to lose his air when the golden-haired one beside him whispered something.

"Stop…don't make it any worse."

"Silence!" the ancient one yelled, "You are hereby sentenced to eternal retribution of the high court." He pounded his gavel on the podium where he stood. Those who sat on either side of him nodded in agreement.

A fitting punishment.

"Wait!" The old man's beady eyes swung toward a young teen with long blond hair. Felix found something vaguely familiar about her, but couldn't quite pin it down. Sheba found the girl disturbing, but she too couldn't find a base for this feeling, "They did only what anyone with enough courage would've done. You can't blame them for fighting the changes!"

"Remove her from the court," the old man growled.

"Father!" A man with stubble on his chin looked up from where he was sitting, beside the old man.

'You shouldn't be here,' he mouthed shaking his head.

"No…please." She broke free of the guard trying to take her away and ran toward the two prisoners. She stood, her feet planted firmly, between the council and the two on trial, "They did nothing!"

A soft voice spoke in her ear, "You have nothing to worry for." She turned around with teary eyes to the dark one with silver hair. He gently touched her cheek and time seemed to stop right there. The color seeped from the walls and all was halted, save for the three in the middle of the grand hall.

"What are you doing?" the golden one asked.

The dark one ignored him, staring into the girl's eyes, "I promise you," he said, " I will see you again."

"In the next life," the one beside him snorted, "Is that your plan?"

"It is," he said calmly. "We will all meet again." The girl stifled a cry and dug in one of her pockets, pulling out a silver chained necklace. On it was a medallion showing the figure of a beautiful goddess protected by enormous wings

"Here, " she said, putting it over his head, "This will bind your promise." She held his hand in both of hers,

"Speak it aloud," she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I promise we will be together again," he said as color began to fade back into the room.

As the dream seemed to end, shapes began to fade and blend out of focus. The area where Sheba and Felix stood began to change from golden tiles to cold gray flooring.

Another dream had begun. Felix realized right away that this was the one that he needed to show Sheba.

Felix both feared and hated this dream; it had quickly become the worst nightmare he ever remembered having—and that in itself was saying something. Yet the worst part had to be the fact that this dream was more than a just recurring nightmare. The detail was so thriving that it almost seemed less like a dream and more like a terrible vision. When Sheba saw into the future, were her visions this detailed?

There he was in his dream, just like always, kneeling on a blood spattered tile floor. He could feel the heavy breath and pain where he had been injured. He could sense the cold tile beneath him and the stuffy, unmoving air around him.

He was also aware of his looming death.

He—the dream He—looked up as his defeater. The once proud warrior held shadow in his eyes, expecting the worse to come. The strength and smugness was gone, suppressed by the terror of his demise. He was no longer the Felix that his friends had grown used to.

Sheba stood behind the other Felix, watching with anguish…this, like the other scene they had just witnessed, was not a dream. It was too detailed.

And however badly she wished to deny it, her past experiences had told her exactly what it was: a prediction, and it would, beyond any doubt, come to pass.

As the dream Felix looked up into the eyes of his captor, he was kicked swiftly in the side. His weakened body tumbled against the ground and spit blood onto the silver surfaced floor.

"Kill me," he gasped, " but you'll never lay your hands on them!"

"Just an act," taunted the shadowed figure before him, prodding him with his steel-toed boot as a young child would likely prod a dead animal with a stick, "You'll give in because your terrified," A smirk could be barely seen on the slender being's face as he lifted Felix's chin with the tip of a long silver blade.

"Bullshit," the dream Felix coughed, "you'd kill me anyway."

"Quite right." The figure slowly pushed the blade into the adept's throat, slowly and painfully.

But before Felix would die, his opponent would have a little more fun with him. The other Felix knew it, and he couldn't watch anymore.

He grabbed Sheba's wrist, pulling her around so her back was now to the scene. "I can't do this," he said.

Her emerald eyes were wide in a nervous fear, " I can't stop it, Felix; I can't pull away." Having no choice, they both gazed back at his demise.

It withdrew its sword from his neck and began to walk a circle around him, as if contemplating how best to play with his pray. As the dream Felix rose, he was again struck down. The blade went straight through his upper arm, pinning him to the ground. A soundless gasp escaped his mouth. He was determined not to give his conqueror any pleasure of his defeat. The shadow figure chuckled.

What a pathetic show! He was fast loosing interest. He slowly wretched the sword from Felix's arm, "Pathetic…" he taunted, "Pathetic!"

"Fuck you," Felix growled before the sword rose again, pointing at his fragile heart.

Sheba gasped, and he hurriedly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her roughly to his chest, hiding the scene from her eyes. He held the back of her head to him, ensuring that she would not turn back to look. She did not need to see the rest.

The sword fell, slicing easily through his heart as he knew it would.

And the dream began to end as well, but he did not let go of Sheba until his hands loosened and he felt himself fall back into the pit of unconsciousness.

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He woke gasping, his covers twisted around him and his clothes sticking to him with the sweat of his feverish body. Sheba muttered something about his fever and again he felt the wet cloth dabbing on his forehead.

Felix felt so terribly weak and useless. The Venus adept ached all over and could barely move. He tried to make his arms work to sit up, but failed miserably and his head fell back into the pillow. He was aware of warm blood in his mouth and coughed it into his trembling hand before looking at the blonde with questioning eyes. She could see the intensity behind his chocolate gaze.

She had never seen such emotion in his face before. Was it fear? No, fear was too tame a word. What Sheba witnessed there in his eyes was quite simply terror. She should've figured it out earlier, when he invited her into his thoughts. He had been the only person she'd never read thoughts from. His mental barriers rivaled her own, and that was quite unexpected since only an Adept of Jupiter should know how to barricade like that. He'd always been a master of masking his emotions. The dreams had changed him; they had broken him down so badly. It was then she began to realize how weak he'd become.

Felix saw pity in her own eyes. She wasn't worried for him; she was trying to sympathize with him. Sympathizing? Had she ever seen her imminent death in her dreams? Well, perhaps, but she had never let on…what was there to identify with, anyway? He averted his gaze whispering, "It can't be stopped."

"Felix," she said, "the future isn't permanent."

His stare was accusing, "Don't lie to me, Sheba."

His voice had become hoarse; his throat felt dry and sore. His brittle strength was waning.

Before drifting off, he heard Sheba's soft voice say, " I'll pray for you..."

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END OF CHAPTER 1

Well, what did you think? Please tell me if I did anything wrong; reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	2. Darkest Corners of the Mind

Lets jump right in, shall we?

**Golden Sun: Dark Element: Chapter Two**

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Again he woke in the darkness. Sheba slept beside his bed, leaning on her staff. She was exhausted, surely. The healing and the mothering…she was only preventing the inevitable. Why wouldn't she just stop? Had Jenna's stubbornness somehow rubbed off on her? He smiled a soft grin in her direction. He was proud of her. She was truly strong and so caring…

How could he deserve such great friends like her and all the rest of them? She was so pure and innocent and he was…a murderer, a traitor…along with everything else he'd ever done against family and his hometown. He had sacrificed everything when he chose to help Saturos Menardi light those damn lighthouses.

He sighed and leaned back on his pillow. His thoughts were so scattered that he could hardly think straight. Why was this happening to him? His health had been growing worse for days, and the nightmares had only gotten more real, and even bloodier.

He had even dreamed about her. He looked at her sleeping form and smiled. Her soft green eyes would look his direction and she would smile. Her hair, growing longer, would be pulled back. She would be sitting bathed in dusk light and a dancing breeze would twirl around her. She would say something he couldn't hear and look at him.

Then the dream would conclude. He could only guess her words, but knew he would hear them sometime. It was one of his more peaceful predictions, but it wasn't the end.

She stirred in her sleep. He wondered if she knew that he had that dream of her. He had shown her several more and was always relieved when it didn't appear.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. The other dreams were more important than a smiling Sheba. Why did he see these things? Death, predictions, past memories…? What did it mean?

He had to find out.

He slowly rose from his bed, careful not to wake the wind adept from her sleep. He tiptoed from the room and entered the main hall of Vale's Sanctum. Looking around cautiously, he was thankful that the stairs were unguarded. At the bottom of the stairs, behind a heavy wooden door, was the prayer room.

He certainly wasn't about to start praying. That room led to the clean and open air of the new Vale.

He entered quietly without any guilt. Felix hadn't prayed since the storm…he didn't even remember how long ago it had been anymore. He no longer cared for the gods and their high standards.

Was that why fate had never looked down on him with kind eyes? He didn't believe it, but had been told many times that exact thing. Only Piers shared that belief, but he had different views from the others, anyway. He was Lemurian after all; it was expected. Felix had been scorned for his beliefs all his life, though, so he'd gotten used to it.

He heaved the great door open and grinned as the fresh outside air hit him. Being a Venus adept, he found it difficult to stay stuck between four walls and a roof all the time. He breathed in a large lungful of misty air; it was all he'd needed to clear his mind. He hummed a random tune as he looked up at the moon.

It was such a beautiful, serene, night and the moon was so alluring…so stunning…

He felt a drawing, a want for the power the moon held over the night sky. It felt so comforting to look up at it and know it was there.

The rain began to fall faster now. It pounded around the awning Felix was standing under but he took no notice.

The moon was too beautiful to look away from. He wanted to go back and lay down, the aches and the fever were draining his already weakened stamina.

But he couldn't look away.

He walked out from the awning, the rain pounding on his upturned face. He perceived nothing when it suddenly stopped. He never realized how it hung in mid-air or how the color began to fade from his surroundings.

He had finally realized he was no longer 'with it.' It took him awhile, but as the moon's hypnotic pull begin to fade on him, he figured he was no longer conscious.

He was having another dream. It was unlike when Sheba had watched them with him. Every time he had on his own, it would be him living the prediction. But he was never in control of what his body did.

He noticed that the sky was pitch-black except for the moon and a large swirling ball of silver and black light that floated before him, "Welcome to the Lighthouse of Shadows," he said, turning around to face…

Jenna? This was the first time she had appeared in one of his dreams.

The mars adept didn't look very happy, either.

She held her staff tightly in one hand, her sword in the other. Her knuckles were growing white because of her grip on them. She looked into his face with a horror-stricken expression, "How could you…" she choked, " What have you done?"

"Poor thing," he said, drawing his Darksword and examining a large red blot that practically coved its dark surface. The Darksword? That cursed weapon? Where was his ever-faithful Sol blade? And what had he done to make her so upset? He would never make his sister cry like that again. Leaving her had caused enough tears for a lifetime of sorrow. He tried every day to make it up to her—he could never, ever stand to make her cry. Or could he?

And why was he mocking her? This wasn't him. He could never hurt her. Not this badly; especially not on purpose.

"He was your best friend!"

Best friend…she wasn't talking about Piers, was she? What the hell did she mean by "was", anyway?

His question was answered when he looked (not of his own will) down to his left. Mia was kneeling beside Piers, futilely attempting to heal his gaping wounds. This couldn't be happening. Piers hadn't even been seen in nearly a year. There was absolutely no chance of Piers leaving Lemuria again to visit Vale.

No, no, no. This couldn't happen. It would not happen. It was merely a dream.

Just a dream.

Piers had told him he would never leave the island again. No chance. This would never happen.

But still...

Had he really tried to kill his best friend?

He heard a shout from somewhere behind him. He turned to see Sheba pointing her staff at him.

"Whoever you are," she cried, " you can't scare us into not attacking you just because you have Felix's likeness."

"You would kill him?" He asked mockingly, " are you strong enough to be responsible for his death?"

"Are you so weak that you must hide in another's body? Coward!"

Sheba…

He wanted reach her. He wanted her to understand, some part of him was still there…

She was right, though, he thought. He would rather die than harm his friends. Better her than that shadow in the other dream anyway.

He then flung himself at her.

He hoped to the gods that he wasn't truly himself.

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"Felix!" She shouted his name, shaking his shoulders. Sheba had noticed him sneak away, and had gotten the door open just in time to see him collapse. "Felix!" she shouted again. She had dragged the soaking Venus adept back inside and had been trying to wake him for several minuets to no avail.

He was dreaming something, she knew it. He was having another one of those dreadful predictions. He was experiencing something merciless and dreadful.

Should she risk it? She might save him, but then again, she might be trapped with him. Sheba nodded, determination set on her face. She would. She would break into his mind and drag his consciousness out if she had to.

She concentrated on her mind-reading power and focused it all into her glowing fingertips. Pushing them to his forehead, she felt herself float slowly through his mind.

Her hand suddenly hit a barrier, sending her out of his thoughts, "No, Felix," she said to his still form, "Let me in!" She was panicking. She could help him and he knew it, so why did he want to keep her out? It didn't matter; she would push his mental barrier with all her might. She would break it if she had to. It was dangerous and stupid, but she had to help him.

But she couldn't do it alone. So the Jupiter Adept focused on the one person who could assist her.

'_Ivan!'_

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END OF CHAPTER 2

So are you interested yet? Please let me know. I eat criticism for breakfast. No really, it's a balanced meal with all kind of yummy nutrients in it. It makes my mind stronger and my typing faster. Please, I thrive on advice. Thank you very much!

See you next chapter!

~riais


	3. Closest Friends

Hi there! Nice to see you again. How are you? What? You want to continue the story? Well what are you waiting for? By all means, be on your merry way. See you at the bottom :)

**Golden Sun: Dark Element: Chapter Three**

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Ivan began to groggily wipe the sleep from his eyes. Something had woken him in the night, again. It had been ages since he'd had any predictions…so what had awakened him?

He huffed a small sigh. It had been a someone, he knew it. Was it Sheba? She had no need for him in this late of night. Nor did Hama…

'_Ivan!'_

That answered his question, it was Sheba's voice calling his name.

'_Ivan!'_

He groaned, putting his hands to his forehead. All he asked for was sleep; could that be so hard?

'_What?'_

'_I…I need your help.'_

'_For what?'_

'_Please,' she whispered to his mind, 'Hurry to the Sanctum!'_

"Why me?" he said aloud when the link had been severed. Had Felix collapsed yet again? All her problems seemed to fall into his hands. Anger began to swell. She had confided in him when she had trusted no one else because of their common bond, yet now, she would only speak with him if she needed help.

She had lost all interest in friendship. His heart also burned in anger for the rest of her loyal friends.

She had announced only recently that she would leave for Lalivero with Vale's resurrection. She had explained that she wished to spend these last years with her friends before the journey home. It wasn't her leaving that infuriated him so.

She spent such long hours looking after the sick that she had no time for her friends. Now that Felix had fallen ill, she never came down from the Sanctum that rested on the highest hill in Vale.

She practically lived there now. The only people who ever saw her were Mia, Felix, and the occasional sickly.

Ivan slumped back into the warmth of his bed. He too had planned on leaving, yet now...he had fallen in love with the quaint town.

With the rebirth of the town almost complete, he wondered if he would ever want to return to Kalay. He gazed out the window at the falling rain. Piers had already left, and now Sheba was about to follow...

"She is my friend," he muttered, sitting up. He reached for his small green cloak and threw it around his shoulders before leaving his door to make the long hike up the hill in the pouring rain.

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Sheba was forcing her way in. This was no place for her. She couldn't see this monster. She couldn't see this terror that he placed on her and his other friends.

Maybe he did deserve that looming death, after all.

No, he mustn't think like that. He wasn't that bad of a person, was he? Sure, he was a little selfish, and a tad bossy but…this wasn't him.

He surly didn't deserve death, did he?

Of course not. If anything good were to come of this dream, he would study it. Maybe then he might be prepared in the near future.

His dream body laughed coldly at the Sheba in front of him, "You can't kill a god, stupid girl!"

"No!" she yelled, "But you can seal them away!"

Could he reach her? Could he help her somehow?

His question was answered before the thought even finished.

_Not this time_, he heard a voice from some echoing part of his mind. _Not this time_, before dark unconsciousness took him yet again.

An eerie twilight filled his vision as he opened his eyes.

Still dreaming. Damn

He found himself on his back, gazing into an endless white sky. A man's face looked over him, "Get up, Felix," he said, his voice harsh and gruff.

Before he could think it, "I can't move," came from his mouth. He had control of his own body!

"You can move," said the man with tired silver eyes, " get up, boy." Felix propped himself up on his elbow before taking the man's gloved hand. Though his silver hair melted into the twilight, his black clothes greatly contrasted the eerie whiteness around him.

_One wore all black and had long cascading silver hair._

But this man was not the same. He did not have the same air about him. The word imposter came to his mind for no reason at all. Felix released his grip and backed away, "Who are you?" he demanded.

The man sighed. Though his features glowed of immortal youth, he looked to Felix as an old man near death. Despair reflected within the dull light of his once fierce eyes, "My identity is of no concern," he said curtly, " I only matter at this point as an aid to you."

"Aid? How are you an aide with this-" Felix through up his arms in accusation, " this chaos going on around me? How am I to trust you? How do I know you're not just some voice in my head? How is this helping?"

The man chuckled, " This is not my doing!" he said.

Felix dropped his arms to his sides and with a look of despair watched the dark clothed man begin to speak, "All you need to know is that you are no longer the only one fighting this...illness,"

He glanced up at the sky as if wondering if 'illness' was the best choice of word, "This will only get worse if you do not take what I am about to tell you seriously."

"The threat to your ability to fight this off are your friends, the others like you, especially the one called Isaac."

"Isaac?" Felix asked. Why would Isaac be a threat to him? The two adepts had put aside their differences a long time ago.

"Just listen," the man said impatiently, "They hinder you ability to keep this to yourself. They cannot be nosing about while you handle this. If you don't include your friends, this will go away quietly." Felix nodded, yet felt uncertain. Why handle this alone? The man seemed to sense his resiliency to his ideas.

"Do you need proof?" The dark one asked.

"Of what?"

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"Sheba, please, you must stop this." Ivan grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from Felix's forehead, "This is stupid."

She pulled her hand away from his, "If you aren't going to help, then leave me alone."

"Sheba, please!" Beads of sweat stood out on her forehead and her breath came in quick bursts. She had never broken into another person's mind with so much resistance.

Ivan understood her care for the Venus adept, but...she was being ridiculous.

Not to mention destructive. She could kill him if she pushed hard enough, and even if she didn't, there was still his mind to think about. Breaking his mental barrier could mean breaking his mind.

"There's a reason he doesn't want you in there, Sheba," he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away again. She twisted away from his grasp and smacked his face with her free hand.

The closest of friends, and yet he could not talk sense into her. Her affection for Felix and her concern for his health had been pushing him aside for weeks. If Ivan could not convince her of her mistake, then who could? Jealousy fought with his concern for Felix's life. They had never been very good friends anyway...

He knelt beside her and brought his hands level to hers. What else could he do but sit back and watch? He reasoned with his choice as the tips of his fingers began to glow soft purple.

"I'm sorry, Ivan," she said, "Thank you."

Felix hit his knees and brought both hands to his forehead. Gasping in pain he glared up at the dark one.

"I hope you understand, Felix, that they do nothing to help you," he said, watching the endless glassy sky.

_Glass breaks and shatters._

That same echo of voice had yet again floated through his thoughts. He too looked up in time to find it crackling and crumbling. He heard the scream of the fragile sky and watched as shards fell from above.

"The wind adepts are not the only ones trying to break in," said the man, "remember what I have said, because the next time you slip away from your physical self...."

His tired silver eyes pierced Felix's core with a hidden contempt, and seemed to be thinking of how to carefully word his threat, "you may not have strength enough to fight what would like to take it from you."

_Stop them before it breaks_

Felix stood and stumbled backwards. Despite the pounding scream in his skull, the voice soothed him and he trusted it.

_You have the ability_

Truth had been spoken and he felt with confidence that he could fight the caving glass ceiling of sky. He lifted his palms to the sky and concentrated on the braking glass.

"What are you doing?" the man asked him, nearly shouting.

Felix did not reply, nor did he take his eyes from the sky.

"You can't do that!" The man watched him as his fingers began to glow with a nearly transparent light; not orange as in most cases. But confusion would not settle on Felix because he knew what he had to do.

He closed his eyes, reaching for Sheba's probing hand. The man yelled again, but Felix could not hear him. His attention was elsewhere. The moment he felt Sheba's energy, he clasped it with his power and like a slingshot, pressure mounted on the string of energy he had sent out. With perfect timing, he released the tension in the string, pushing both him and Sheba from the trappings of his inner mind.

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His eyes flicked open, a brown stare meeting his.

"...?" These were his first few thoughts upon waking.

"Glad to see you're back to your old self," Jenna said sarcastically before her face cracked in to a wide grin. Same old Felix; the only one to ever produce ellipses in thin air.

Ever so expressive.

He began to sit up and when he had finished struggling under the mass of covers, he leaned back against the headboard, "How long..."

"I thought you were comatose," she said cheerfully, throwing back the shades. A sting of white light hit his eyes before he hurriedly shielded them with his hand.

Snow.

"Snow?" he asked, looking up at her rosy face.

She smiled at him with sad eyes. Jenna hated snow just as much as Felix hated bodies of water ("Not people," he would explain often to Piers or Mia, "rivers and such things.") They both had their reasons.

The battle atop the lighthouse...the howling wind and the wicked snow obstructing the warriors view. It stung their faces, and the cold cut through their heavily layered clothing.

The water gushing around him, threatening to pull him under. His arms, sore from hanging on to their only hope of safety. Would drowning be long and agonizing or swift as sleep?

Pain and death.

"Jenna..." The two siblings locked eyes knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

"Stop it Felix, I'm trying to cheer you up."

"Ugh," he groaned, "It's not me! You're the one who looks like she needs cheering."

"Oh, stop it!" she said laughing, "I was going to tell you that you slept through Fall, but you got so serious so fast that you ruined the whole thing."

He started to laugh too, "How long have I really been sleeping?"

"It's only been a few days," she looked out the frosted window, "A freak storm moved in from Imil, I think."

"It was a peaceful sleep."

"Hm?" she turned to face him.

"No dreams," he said, "I slept without dreams."

"For the first time in...?"

"A long, long time," he answered, "The first time in years," even before those distracting predictions.

"That's good," she said solemnly turning back to the window.

"Yeah," he said, "it's good." But he knew it wouldn't last.

---

---

The man with unnatural bluish hair paused, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. He had misjudged his ability with the teleport stone. He looked down at the purple rock, rolling it around in his palm. His psynergy was spent. He sighed and gazed around at his surroundings, noticing a town similar to one he remembered from a few years past.

"Vault." Piers said with conviction, "I suppose I'm walking the rest of the way."

He smiled at the thought of seeing his dear friends again, "Ah well."

---

---

END OF CHAPTER 3

You enjoyed it, didn't you? Come on, you know you did. You also know that you want to review, too. You might at well do it then, since you're thinking about it.

See you in the next chapter. ~riais


	4. Checking In

**Golden Sun: Dark Element: Chapter Four**

---

---

"I really think you should stay a little longer."

"Sheba, please," Felix tugged at the corners of his bed and turned to face her, "I'm perfectly okay," He forced his long green cloak out of his worn canvas bag, swinging both over his shoulders.

"But it's only been a few days. We should make sure you're healthy."

"But I am." He brushed past her and hurried down the stairs. He crossed the prayer room and then heaved open one of the overly large wooden doors.

"Felix, you need to stay in the sanctum until you are well," he glanced back to see Mia standing beside Sheba, her hand on the younger adept's shoulder.

He produced a fake smile and turned toward Mia, "I've been well for days," he just wanted to go home, "I'm fine, really."

"I don't think so," Sheba said, "I don't think this could be over so quick." He ignored the blonde, focusing his charm on the priestess.

"Really," he tried to reassure her he was right, "all I need is to get back home; I can't rightfully relax on these lumpy pillows and hard beds."

Mia's stern frown began to melt and she turned toward Sheba, "He doesn't seem too sick me..." she suggested, "We could have someone check in on him if you're that worried."

Felix's fake smile faltered. All he had really wanted was his privacy. Sheba had spotted his smile flicker, "Fine," she said, turning from Mia's grip and running for the stairs; she would not be deceived by his lies. He had never even confided to her his last dream. He refused to talk to her about it. If he wasn't going to let her help him, she might as well just quit trying.

Mia blushed, hesitating. Should she let him go and talk to her friend? She looked after the stairs and then back towards Felix, "You can leave," she said, smiling and blushing a little deeper before chasing Sheba up the stairs.

Once her back turned, his fake smile became a sigh. If only they would listen. He slipped out the door to begin his long walk down the hill to the rest of the village. The frosted grass crunched under his thick leather boots and the air whispered lightly and ruffled his tunic. He saw the village below; buildings nestled closely together in neat little rows.

Vale had grown since he had been away in the sanctum. The town looked nearly finished. Felix paused, taking in the village. Not nearly finished...He squinted, chocolate eyes scanning every detail. No, the town was completely finished.

Vale was finished. And Vale being finished meant...

Sheba would be leaving.

---

---

Piers' hand hesitated at the door. He heard the crunching of frosted grass and turned to see Sheba walking up behind him. The blonde's eyes widened.

"Piers," she said, stopping suddenly, "what..." she looked him over and then at the hotel behind him, "What are you doing here?"

He followed her gaze to the large wooden house, "Looking for a place to rest." Sheba's gaze narrowed and Piers fought off the urge to chuckle, "I know what you meant, I was only joking. I have grown weary of my home, but..." Piers looked over the large building behind him, "Shall we go inside first? We can talk where it is warm."

---

---

"A free room," Piers sighed happily as he opened the door to his room, "how nice."

"Well, you are welcome here anytime." Sheba pushed the half-closed door with her shoulder. Piers took the luggage from her hands and placed it on the nicely made bed.

"Thank you for your help," he said.

Sheba just waved it off' "That's alright." She watched him for a moment as he walked about the room, putting his things in proper places, "So…" she began.

"I felt a pull," he said.

"What?"

"The reason I came here. It was like I was needed for something." He looked up at her and smiled gently, "I really can't explain it."

She shivered a little, though it wasn't due to the cold. This is…some kind of sign or omen, she thought.

Something bad is going to happen. No mistake, a prediction had just been made by the Jupiter adept. It was so vague though, as if her power had hit some sort of barrier.

"I think I know what you mean," she said. He looked at her expectantly (she _was_ a Jupiter adept of course), "Piers, something's wrong with Felix."

---

---

A rapping of knuckles against the hard wood cut through Felix's thoughts. He grumbled under his breath as he reached for the door; something about mothering, smothering, and checking in.

The door opened partly with a twist of the handle. He had opened his mouth to say something like "I'm fine, now leave me be," but his brows just rose under his unkempt mess of bangs instead. Of all people, he had least expected Piers to check in on him. He was almost too surprised to answer back when the blue-haired man asked, "How are you, friend?"

"Shocked, I think, is a good word for this emotion," Felix finally said. He opened the door further to wave Piers inside

"Your health, I mean." Felix gave his friend a scrutinizing once over as he shut the door behind them.

"You've been talking to Sheba." I wasn't a question. Strange, as I could have been anyone else in the village, but he just kind of…knew.

They reached the kitchen table and Piers pulled up a chair across from the Venus adept, "She tells me you've been more than sick. She is worried," Piers said, "and I am somewhat worried as well."

Felix waved this remark away, "She's just being paranoid," he explained, "do I look sick to you?" He held his arms out, "Believe me, I've been fine for days."

"I don't think wind adepts get paranoid, Felix. She must have a reason for her concern?"

"My health is not my greatest concern, Piers." I have greater things other than fever to fret over, he thought.

"Then what is?"

Felix frowned, avoiding his friend's eyes.

"What's going on, Felix?"

_He's your friend. Why not tell him?_

The echo...that voice that wasn't there. Had it returned? It was calm. It knew the right response. He could trust it.

But why should he listen to the voice? He glanced up at Piers, sitting, waiting for his answer.

He could tell him everything- the dreams, the predictions- or...

**Or what?**

Another thought had entered; unlike the other one, it was sharp and concise. It too, talked sense. Perfect sense. Don't be silly, the tone of it suggested, what's the point in telling him?

Indeed. Why tell him? Nothing would come of it. The sharp voice spoke truth. He would trust it.

Felix puffed the hair out of his face, "It doesn't concern you," he told his longtime friend.

---

---

The sharp voice continued to speak, though not to Felix. The owner of the sharp voice looked up at the endless white sky, his silver hair waving in a non-existent breeze, "Luna," he crooned, "have you really gone so weak?"

Luna did not reply, yet it did not stop the one dressed in black to continue calling out.

"Pathetic waste of power! Your effort to save him is only in vain. Do you not yet understand?"

"I can show you again, if you still haven't figured it out!" A pale smile spread across the dark one's face, "I can show you just how useless to the world you are!"

_Your monologue does not threaten me, Garcia. Stand down with this useless display._

"Ha!" Garcia snorted, "You have absolutely no control. I would tell you to stand down if only it wasn't so funny that you try in the first place!" The silenced continued when Luna did not reply. The one called Garcia frowned, how boring the god of the moon was.

---

---

Felix sat at his table rubbing his right temple. An awful headache had set in and he didn't feel the best in mood to deal with company.

"I'll be fine," he told Piers, "it's merely a headache."

Piers did not seem convinced.

"It'll pass," Felix insisted, "What brings you down here, anyway?"

Piers' face did not brighten like he'd expected it to. Instead, it only got more serious, "I think it is a sign," he said quietly, "I felt…as if something needed my attention." He paused, thinking, "like someone needed my help."

_It makes sense_

…

**Ridiculous, what a stupid reason.**

Felix really didn't really know what to think. It was as if his mind had spoken for him. As if Felix was unable to think for himself. He groaned and dug his knuckles into his forehead.

Go away, he thought. Leave me be. His teeth grinded against each other. The pain in his head felt hot and blinding.

"Felix," Piers began slowly, "I'm beginning to think that's you."

"Don't be stupid, Piers," he said, "You can't help me."

---

---

Piers watched a puff of white breath rise in front of his face. He leaned against the rail that separated his room at the inn from the street below.

"_Don't be stupid, Piers_," he had said, "_You can't help me_."

Was it some kind of coded plea for help? Felix had been denying all this time only to say he couldn't be helped? Why say it as if he had some kind of problem?

_You can't help me._

He didn't say, "I don't need help." It was like he thought any help would be useless.

Piers sighed, "Maybe I'm over thinking this." He gazed up at the moon as he spoke to himself, "Maybe I'm the one being paranoid." A knock came at the door. He looked back at it, curious. Who would visit at this late of hour?

"I heard you'd come," said Isaac as he opened the door, not waiting for Pier's invitation. He looked clearly smashed. He stumbled happily through the doorway, "You gotta come down…stairs," he managed, "The town is done!"

"Done?" Piers asked, "How do you mean?"

"Jus come to the party," Isaac continued, "We're partying!"

---

---

END OF CHAPTER 4

Oh boy, I'm finally done editing. If I missed anything or something fails to make sense, please let me know. I'm doing my best here, but I know I can do better with a little help from you guys.

Thanks.

~riais


	5. Where'd The Party Go?

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Yes, I know, I know. I feel terrible for updating so sporadically. Shame on me. I think I need a mantra or some such thing.

(_must update regularly must update regularly must update regularly must update regularly…) _Anyway, I am sorry, and I will try to get this monstrosity finished as soon as I can. Here's the next chapter. It's mostly filler, but after all this stuff is out of the way it should start to get quite interesting. And it will, trust me.

Ps: Isaac is still drunk. That's why he's talking funny. I didn't goof, I swear

**Chapter 5: Where'd the party go?**

"You got arrived jus in time Piers!" Isaac shouted over the clamor of the heavy crowd. A throng of people had gathered in the Inn's dining room. He clapped his friend on the shoulder as he passed him by.

"Cheers!" he prompted, rising his bottle of alcohol in the air. About a dozen others mimicked him.

"Cheers!" they all said. Isaac took a long drink straight from a large red bottle and looked back around at Piers.

"Want some?" he asked, shoving the bottle into Piers' face.

"Ah, no thinks," he said, pushing it away as politely as he could manage, "you can have it."

"More for me!" Isaac said happily, and wandered away to mingle with the other villagers. Piers had never particularly liked parties, but smiled in spite of himself.

Piers wandered around the room a little, making a little conversation here and there. After deciding that he had done enough mingling, he resigned himself to watching the festivities from a secluded corner.

Sheba spotted him from the other side of the room and made her way over to him. They stood silently beside each other for some time. He noticed her sad eyes when looking down at her, but held his words to himself.

"I'll be leaving this place soon," she said, "It's…I've grown to love it."

Piers nodded, "My sentiments as well," he said. He enjoyed Vale, but what he enjoyed most was the company. She hadn't voiced it, but he felt sure that by the place she had meant the people.

"I…" she began, almost too quietly for Piers to hear, "I'm afraid, Piers. I'm ready to leave but I'm not sure…I just don't know if that's the best thing right now."

He looked down at her again and nodded, knowing full well what troubled her.

---

---

He sat on the bench outside the inn, watching his breath fog up in front of his face. Felix had never been one to join social events and this party would certainly be no exception. He stayed close though, always. It was a habit of his to stay close, even now when there clearly was no danger. Always during the long journey he would stand just outside of the crowd, just in case.

Just in case, he could be there if needed—always ready to help, no matter the circumstances.

That's probably why Garet (the life of every party) had christened him the "Watch Dog." "Throw him a bone," he would say, "that'll keep him happy. No need to waste the booze on him when he's not willing to join in." Of course, Garet would never say it around Felix unless he felt like literally being buried six feet under (with plenty of air supply, of course). He had learned his lesson once before. Felix never took too kindly to being called a dog for reasons of his own. No one, not even Jenna, had the nerve to ask; it was a purely private matter.

"I thought I would find you here." His musings interrupted, he looked up to see Jenna, a half smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. The look on his face blank, he merely shrugged.

"You really should join in," she said, sitting down beside him.

"That's what you always say," he replied.

"Well, I mean it." She giggled a little and looked over at him, "You should let your hair down once in awhile." Though Felix rarely reacted in the face of humor, he couldn't help but crack a small grin. Since he had grown it out, he had always kept his hair tied back, and, while his parents pestered him to cut it, Jenna pestered him to "let it down" so to speak. It was her little way of telling him to let go. Cute as it was, he wasn't about to do so.

"I'll just sit here, thanks. Drunken obnoxious people irritate me."

As if on some invisible cue, Isaac walked up and Felix frowned slightly.

Why had he frowned? Isaac's presence just seemed to eat at him lately—he didn't know why. They had gotten along reasonably well since returning home, but lately, Felix became irritated by his mere presence and had become increasingly standoffish around him. Isaac wasn't too particularly worried about that tonight, though…

Isaac, oblivious, smiled at Jenna, "Heeey…" he said happily, sitting next to her and flinging his arm around her shoulders. She pushed him away from her.

Her cheeks flamed softly, "go hit on someone else, Isaac," she said, smelling the alcohol on his breath, "you're wasted."

"S'not my fault," he pouted, "Garet said…"

"Go," she said, "go tell Garet that."

Isaac thought a moment and smiled, "Okie-dokie." he stood, and, ambling away, disappeared back inside.

Felix almost smiled too. Jenna sure knew how to get rid of said drunken obnoxious people.

---

---

A knock sounded from somewhere behind her door.

"Come in," she said.

Ivan's head peeked in anxiously, "we wondered where you had wandered off to."

"We?" Sheba asked, looking up from her half-packed travel bags.

"Well," he said anxiously, "just me and Mia, actually."

Ivan walked in to the room, closing the door behind him. He seemed unsure of himself. Sheba gazed at him for a long moment as he just stood there; she raised an eyebrow in his direction, "What's the matter?"

"Oh!" he said, as if surprised she would ask such a question. The older Jupiter adept twiddled his thumbs for a moment, "Well…" he said. Sheba frowned. Ivan, as long as she had known him, had never easily expressed himself. He always hung back and tried to voice his opinions as little as possible. Even so…he had never been quite this nervous.

"Just spit it out," she said playfully, a strained smile on her face. She had somewhat of an idea of where this was headed.

"I talked with Mia, and…" he paused briefly, "We've decided to join you on the way back home. I wasn't sure what you had planned, though…" he glanced in the direction of her bags.

"Oh, that. I-I actually hadn't thought much about that, honestly." She hadn't thought on it at all. How could she have forgotten? Leaving Vale…of course her friends would want to come with her. As much as none of them wanted to admit it, Sheba felt sure that after she left Vale, she would never see her companions again. It would only make sense, then, that they would want to come with her.

"But why the two of you?" What an odd combination. She hardly knew Mia, anyway. Sheba and Jenna had become close friends only for the fact that they were the only young girls in the party, but she hadn't met Mia until the near end of the journey. She understood Ivan, of course, he was the only other wind adept she had come to know. But why Mia?

Ivan saw the confused expression on her face, "Let me explain," he said, "We're both starting to feel a little homesick, so…well, we want to make this goodbye as quick and painless as possible—a clean break, so to speak."

Sheba was about to say something; she had even opened her mouth, in fact, so that she could speak, but Jenna's face suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"Am I interrupting something?" she giggled. Ivan's cheeks lit up, but Sheba hadn't noticed the insinuation.

"Not really," she said calmly, "Why?"

"I just wondered where the party had gone. Everyone kept disappearing, so I came around to see who I could find."

"Well," Sheba glanced back at Ivan, whose cheeks had reverted to their natural shade, "We were just discussing my departure."

"depar…?" Jenna frowned, seeing the bags on Sheba's bed, "You're leaving, then?"

"I think…" Sheba glance over all of her bags (all of two—she had never really cared much for material things), "I think I'm ready," she said finally.

"Well," said Jenna, her face somewhat saddened by the news, "I'll let everyone know."

---

---

The bright yellow sun that appeared from behind the horizon the next day really, _really_, was not the best for Isaac's hangover. The only reason he hadn't sworn off alcohol completely was for the fact that his convictions dissolved when he set his eyes on the stuff. He really enjoyed alcohol, he did. Hangovers sure were hell, though.

He had risen early at the request of his friends, and now stood in the path of Sol's dawning fury. He groaned and covered his eyes with his hands.

"Cheer up, man," said a loud voice on his left. He groaned again, and in peeking between his fingers managed to glare at Garet. He never had understood how his friend escaped the wrath of the hangover.

Maybe it's a Mars thing, he thought bitterly, as he had never seen Jenna with a hangover either.

"Isaac, Garet, please pay attention," someone snapped. He looked up to see Felix's scowl before the older adept's eyes darted somewhere else.

"Someone's in a pissy mood," muttered Garet, so only Isaac could hear. He couldn't help but grin at his friend's remark.

"Please continue, Jenna," Felix said flatly, looking down at the young woman who stood beside him.

"Yeah, so, as I was saying…" She glared in Isaac's direction before continuing.

The entire group of companions stood, side-by-side, in a circle at Vale's town square. As soon as the people had given the town a square, the young heroes would convene on the spot to discuss any one thing that needed discussing. Today, the heroes gathered to discuss the departure of one, or more perhaps, of their own.

Jenna had called the meeting. She felt it only fair seeing as how Felix had called one for Piers before he had left.

After several minutes of Sheba voicing her plans, the conversation had turned to the aspect of others leaving with her. Ivan had voiced his need for departure due to Jenna's urging, and Mia had spoken up of her own free will. Just as Mia had spoken, Garet had as well, wishing to "see her home to Imil." Mia did accepted his offer, but not without burning cheeks. Jenna had just begun to speak before Isaac so rudely interrupted.

"I think I should come, too. I want to give everyone their proper goodbyes, you know?" Jenna looked up at Felix, "What do you think, brother?"

Felix looked down at her, startled, "You know I'll go where you will," he said simply. Jenna rolled her eyes at him and turned toward the others.

"You, Isaac?"

"Well," he shrugged, "if you and Garet are going…" Isaac let his sentence trail off. He had said all he needed. Jenna then turned her attention toward Piers, but before she could say anything, he let out a little chuckle.

"I did just return, but seeing as how you are all leaving, I do not think I have much of a choice."

Sheba smiled uncomfortably, "I guess that settles it, then."

---

---

Please, please, please tell me what you think. I'm really needing some helpful criticism (praise is good, too). I can only get better if you review!

Thanks bunches, I'll be back (soon, I hope) ;)

~riais


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